Uber Cash vs Uber CASH

Uber Cash is a newly announced electronic payment option within the Uber apps, valid for Uber products only.

Uber CASH or Uber cash option refers to a tangible cash payment option for Uber rides available in a growing number of cities. Here, we offer everything you need to know about Uber and cash:

What is Uber?

Uber is a ride-sharing company started in 2009 that revolutionized the taxi industry with a cashless, app-based transport experience in which licensed drivers that signed up to Uber “share” a ride with nearby app-users within minutes of their request by using smartphone GPS tracking.

Not at first. Six years after Uber's launch, the company began experimenting with integrating cash into their payment options in order to the reach rural communities that rely on cash. In May 2015, Uber rolled out a cash option into the app’s payment options in Hyperbad, India. Following its success, they extended the choice to four more cities in India. By the end of the year, Uber completed 1 billion rides.

By 2016, Uber offered the cash payment option to over 150 cities and in 2018, this number grew to over 400. Now, riders can choose cash in 51 countries. Having acknowledged the public’s preference for cash, their U-turn for the once cashless Uber back to cash was an undeniably wise.

'Choice is a beautiful thing and soon many of you will be able to pay for Uber rides using cash. That’s right – you get all the Uber awesomeness and even more options when it comes to paying for your ride. Simply choose the CASH option, take a ride and pay your driver directly in cash at the end,'

According to Uber's website, customers’ usage and feedback are what makes this experiment a success. If you think Uber should accept cash in your area, simply write to support@uber.com or their Facebook or Twitter accounts.

Is Uber’s cash payment option related to “Uber Cash”?

No. On September 5th, 2018 Uber began rolling out “Uber Cash”, confusingly unrelated to their cash-accepting expansion. “Uber Cash” is a separate payment option offered within the app where users can pool their budget for all Uber products, from bike sharing to food delivery, into one account.

To top up this account, customers transfer money from their debit, credit or gift cards into their Uber Cash account. To entice riders to choose the Uber Cash option in the US, they are currently offering a deal where those who credit $95 gets them $100 of store value, $50 for those who top up with $48.50 and $25 for those who fund $24.50. Their account can then be used across all their local services but what it can’t do, is allow their rider to cash out their stored Uber Cash values onto other payment cards outside the Uber ecosystem.

“In the last year alone, 15.1% of the global population had used a credit card and 23.2% used a debit card – which meant that 61.7% had used cash as a payment method at least once...We knew that cash was a big opportunity as people were still using it daily and we decided to launch ‘cash’.”

Open the Uber app on your smartphone and go to the Payment section on the top left corner

Select ‘CASH’ as your payment option

Request for a ride

Before you get out, pay the amount shown to you and your driver – No haggling required

Requirements for riders

Smartphone with a downloaded Uber app

Wi-Fi connection or a data plan and connection

A valid Uber account (“Social Connect” may be required)

Enough cash to hand over to the driver at the end of the trip

There is no booking fee or the additional charge to riders when they use cash. Uber advises having double the amount just in case the end cost is more than the expected estimation given at the start of the journey. If a ride results to be longer and the rider doesn’t have enough change or vice-versa – Uber will either cover the outstanding cost for the first scenario or simply add credit to the rider’s account for the second.

'That idea is presumably at play with Uber Cash: Provide a payment tie across the various Uber properties, further engaging consumers and making it harder for them to step away — especially if they have loyalty and point rewards awaiting them, and if they can make monthly budgets too.'

Apr: Uber launches ridesharing - regular drivers using personal vehicles as part of UberXJun: Uber goes live in Mexico City, MexicoJul: Uber goes live in Taibei, TaiwanAug: Uber goes live in Johannesburg, South Africa and Bangalore, India